


Another side of you (Continuation of Mein Schatz)

by fraufi666



Series: Mein Schatz [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Brother/Brother Incest, Human Names, Human to animal transformation, M/M, Magic, Male Slash, Revenge, Romance, Suspense, Unrequited Love, Violence, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-29
Updated: 2014-09-29
Packaged: 2018-02-19 05:58:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2377352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fraufi666/pseuds/fraufi666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An ordinary day of work for Ludwig quickly takes a disastrous turn as an unwanted visitor shows up. Frau Augustine’s reappearance for revenge results in a worrying scheme in hopes to separate the brothers. At the same time, an unlikely co-worker becomes caught in the middle of it. Will Frau Augustine be successful in carrying out her scheme and winning back Gilbert, or will Ludwig find a way to stop it all before it is too late?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another side of you (Continuation of Mein Schatz)

The sun seeped through the curtains as Ludwig slowly rose from the bed. But a white hand pulled him back. 

"Oh West…" Gilbert sighed sleepily, opening a single red eye before squinting against the harsh morning sun. "It’s far to early. Come back to bed."

"I must get ready for work." Ludwig responded briskly, slipping on his clothes, "I don’t want to be late."

The Prussian sat up, opening his eyes fully. “You don’t honestly expect to leave me here by myself…” As he said this, he stared back at the German seductively, hoping to entice him back to bed. Ludwig blushed and his heart thumped eagerly, but he had managed to control himself. As tempted as he was, he could not afford to be late for work. He had already taken a lot of time off, after all. 

"I’m sorry…" Ludwig apologised, giving the albino a kiss on the forehead. "I really must go."

Gilbert scowled but he smiled and patted Ludwig’s hand understandably. “Alles gut.” He replied. “

"Aber.." Ludwig began as an idea came to his head "You could come with me to work."

Gilbert chuckled and sprawled back on the bed lazily. “Ja, so I can get bored to death? Nein, danke. I’ll be good. I’m sure that I could find _something_ to entertain myself…Tschüss, West!” 

"Auf Wiedersehen, bruder." Ludwig said, with a slight hint of worry in his voice as he recalled what had happened the last time he went to work "Just be careful and don’t go into any antique stores unattended." 

Gilbert laughed once more as he got up, wrapping himself up in the blanket as he stood up “I will, don’t you worry.” He kissed Ludwig teasingly on the mouth as if to try and convince him to linger around longer. 

The younger sibling blushed and quickly made his way out of the room before the other could exert his power on him. He had a quick breakfast and drove to the office. By now, the sun was high in the sky and it was starting to get very warm. Squinting from the brightness, Ludwig tried to ignore the heat until he had arrived at the office. Once indoors, he had removed his jacket and went to his office to get started on the pile of paperwork that was waiting for him. 

"Morgen, Herr Beilschmidt." called a cheery voice from the doorway 

Ludwig looked up to see one of his closest colleagues, Hans beaming at him and holding two polystyrene cups of coffee. “I figured you might need these. You look as if you’ve barely slept. What was keeping you up?”

The blond blushed as he remembered the intense bedroom activities between him and Gilbert and tried to shake away the memory “Er…I was just working.” He lied quickly. 

Hans nodded, completely oblivious and handed him a cup. “I understand. Mein Gott that boss of ours loves to keep us busy, doesn’t he?” Hey, would you like to head to the canteen for lunch later on?”

Ludwig shook his head, staring down at the paperwork “Nein…sorry. I must make a start on these.” 

The other slapped his back enthusiastically “Good man. At least there’s someone in the company who’s industrious. But, try not to spend too much time on that okay? Frische Luft ist sehr wichtig.” 

"Ja, I won’t." Ludwig said sternly, picking up a pen. "Now, Hans…if you’d like to stay here and talk about work related matters, that’s fine but if you just want to-"

"Oh, entschuldigung." Hans apologised guiltily, understanding that Ludwig was asking him to leave. "Bis später!" Without another word, he had walked out of the room, leaving the German in peace. 

For the next couple of hours, Ludwig had worked intensely on the task before him. By now the heat was becoming oppressive, and he reached over to turn on the fan. He sat back on his chair for a while, closing his eyes to enjoy the cool air on his face before going back to tackle the paperwork again. 

But he was just about to continue working; the fan had switched off abruptly. Frowning, he leaned over to turn it on again. As he did so, his elbow knocked over the cup of coffee that he had forgotten to drink. The black liquid poured quickly onto the floor, staining the carpet. 

"Scheiße!" Ludwig cursed. Such a stain was going to be very difficult to wash out. He quickly hurried through the corridor and into the kitchen where he found some detergent. He returned back quickly, knowing that the longer he would leave the stain, the harder it would be to wash out. But when he returned, he almost dropped the bottle of detergent in shock.

Right where the black coffee had split on the carpet was almost completely clean. The polystyrene cup sat on his desk, filled with hot coffee. Ludwig blinked and stared back at the same empty spot on the carpet, making sure that he wasn’t hallucinating. He furrowed his brow in frustration, trying to make sense of what was happening to him. Perhaps the lack of sleep was causing him to see things. That wouldn’t be so uncommon. Yet a chill down his spine had shattered his hypothesis. Of course this wasn’t the first time that something unusual had happened. He recalled the incident of Frau Augustine, and her crazy obsession over the Prussian and how she had done everything in her power to capture him. He had just hoped that Gilbert was safe in the house alone. 

After working for a few more hours, Ludwig’s nerves had caused him to give in and he decided to ring up the house to check on Gilbert.

"Gilbert.." Ludwig began, his voice tense and shaky as he had prepared himself for the worst. 

"West? Is everything alright?" 

The young German took a deep breath before continuing, “Has anything unusual happened to you?” 

Gilbert laughed “Oh bruder…are you worried about me? I’m fine. I’ve just been watching TV actually. Are you going crazy because you’re missing my awesomeness?” 

"Nein!" Ludwig growled. "I just….I…"

The Prussian’s cheery tone was quickly replaced by worry “What’s going on, West?” 

"I think something strange is happening. I knocked over a cup of coffee but when I went to clean it, it was as if nothing had happened." 

"Since when were you such a klutz? You’re just seeing things because you’re losing your mind, that’s all." Gilbert said dismissively. "Don’t be so scared. I’ll ring you tonight just to make sure that I’m still alive." 

"Gut." Ludwig grumbled, getting ready to hang up to phone in frustration "Auf Wiederhören." 

"Auf Wiederhören, kleiner bruder!" Gilbert giggled, seemingly unaware of the German’s anxiety. Ludwig sighed as he put down the headset and held his head in worry. Was it all just a hallucination, like what Gilbert was saying? Given all the strange things that had been happening lately, it was so hard to tell what was real and what was make believe anymore. He decided to go for a walk outside, at least so that he would have an adequate break from all the work and stress. Perhaps then his mind would stop playing so many tricks on him. 

He made his way through the corridor and into the yard outside. Oddly enough, it was not as bright as it once was, almost as if it was late evening. The sight perplexed him. How long had he actually been in the office for? And where were Hans and his other colleagues? He continued to walk around for a while, stopping for a rest on a bench facing the orderly line of trees which led from the building. Now that he was all alone in the fresh air, he had felt slightly better. Closing his eyes, he inhaled and exhaled slowly, feeling somewhat relaxed by the cool evening breeze from such an uncomfortably hot day. 

But something had quickly alerted his senses. It was an unpleasant feeling and Ludwig knew all too well what he was experiencing. 

It was a feeling of being watched.

Nervously, he spun around, yet there was nobody in sight. He scanned the yard, keeping his wits about him. 

"Hallo?" He called "Is someone there?"

Only silence answered his reply. 

After a moment, he laughed to himself. _Why am I so freaked out for? There’s nobody there. I’m a dummkopf._ To reassure himself, he thought about the advice that a relative had once told him long ago: _You can only be frightened if you let yourself be frightened._ Maybe, it really _was_ all in his head. He was spending so much time worrying and panicking when there wasn’t an obvious threat around. Time he should be spending working. Ludwig shook his head at the thought of wasting any more time. 

Without another thought, he walked back to the office and continued to work on the last part of the paperwork. Once he was done, he began to pack all his things to leave the office. 

As he placed a folder in his bag, the lights immediately went out. Cursing, he started to pack faster, realising that it was probably the janitor closing up the place. Time seemed to be going so quickly without him knowing. The worst thing that could happen was if the office was locked while he was still inside, although he knew that it would have been unlikely. After putting in his last few contents into the bag, he left the room and walked through the corridor and down the stairs. Since he had hurried himself through the building as fast as possible, he did not pay attention to whatever…or whoever it was who had just suddenly emerged from the corner. 

Ludwig gasped as he had bumped into a silhouette “Herr Gott Nochmal. You scared me. I didn’t see you there…sorry.” He quickly turned and walked towards the exit, not even bothering to see whom the person was, but the person had seemed very interested in Ludwig.

"Not so fast." A familiar, dreaded voice snapped, stopping him in his tracks. Ludwig spun around instantly and the person soon stepped out of the shadows and towards him. He saw the old-fashioned, black dress, the bony fingers and the wrinkled, pale face of the person that he had hoped to never see again. 

…it was the face of Frau Augustine. 

 

"Oh it is so good to see you again, Ludwig." The woman said mockingly, her smile so ghastly and wicked to behold. Even though she was in her human form, she had still seemed so terrifying. "Why are you leaving? We’ve known each other for a while, haven’t we?"

"Go away!" Ludwig shouted angrily. "The only thing I know about you is what you are capable of. If you don’t get out of here, I’ll call the police!"

"And what will they do exactly?" Frau Augustine asked in amusement  "Arrest me? Don’t you remember what had happened the _last_ time you had threatened me with that? I could just easily say that you’re having an affair with your brother and you wouldn’t even need to go to work anymore.”

He clenched his fists, realising that she was right. It was pointless debating any further. She was going to be the clear victor in this situation anyway. “Well, okay. How about if I just let you go and you promise to never come back in our lives again?”

Frau Augustine cackled. “Oh that is very, very clever Ludwig. You have always been a clever one. But my mind is made up. You are NOT worthy of Gilbert’s love. I have come back to take what is mine.” She leaned closer to the German, attempting to intimidate him more “…You cannot stop me.” 

Ludwig frowned, backing away as she had tried to move closer. “Nein!” He shouted, “Get away!” Even though he would not even entertain the idea of hitting a woman, let alone one who was so old, he was determined to fight against the one who had wreaked havoc on their lives. “Get back!” He commanded once more, holding up his fists in defense.

Yet Frau Augustine had simply ignored his cries, for she was far more powerful. With a quick motion of her hand, Ludwig was thrown through the air by some invisible force, his back hitting the wall as he fell to the floor. He groaned in pain, rubbing his back and struggled to scramble to his feet before Frau Augustine had managed to push him back against the wall. 

"Give up now, Ludwig." Frau Augustine insisted, "You’re _weak_. We all know that only one of us can have Gilbert.”

Although he had winced against her words, a thought came to him as he turned his fierce azure gaze towards her. What she was saying was true, yet he knew that Gilbert was only going to fall for one person at the end of the day. Frau Augustine was definitely not that person. 

"Nein." Ludwig said with a small smile, feeling clever for his realisation "Gilbert wouldn’t like you anyway. Like me, he also knows what you’re capable of. You can’t get away with it twice." 

A small frown appeared on the older woman’s brow as she felt that she was being challenged. She moved forward so that their noses were almost touching as she quickly thought of a scheme that would shatter the German’s confidence. “No…you’re right. You’re absolutely right my dear. But say, if _you_ were something else…Gilbert wouldn’t be able to love you anymore.”

"What are you talking about?!" Ludwig demanded, his voice slightly shaky. 

She placed a hand to his face, smirking as she did so. “You’ve always been so devoted to him, so obedient. Like a dog, actually. _A faithful Alsatian_. I think that would be more fitting.” She laughed and with another wave of her hand, Ludwig felt the room grow around him, as well as Frau Augustine. As his surroundings darken, she felt him pat the top of his head, as if he were this Alsatian that she was referring to. 

“ _Now be a good boy, okay?_ " Her sinister words whispered, as everything turned black. 

 

 Ludwig had woken up with a start. It shocked him to see that he was still in the building; it was so different to the place that he had often worked in. He struggled to stand up, yet ended up falling on all fours. Puzzled, he glanced at his hands for a sanity check but his eyes widened in fear as he noticed two paws facing him instead of hands. 

 _What the hell?!_ Ludwig wanted to shout, but as he tried to utter those words out loud, everything had turned to a bark. Frantic, he crawled through the corridor and towards a window to see his reflection. 

 _This can’t be happening._ He thought in disbelief. _This is just a dream!_ Yet as his eyes fell to his reflection, he backed away in horror. Instead of seeing a tall, blond-haired German man, a German shepherd looked back at him. Before he could figure out what was really going on, a yell distracted him from his thoughts. 

"Was?! Why is there a dog here? Aus!" A man shouted. Ludwig looked up to see the chubby form of his own boss shouting at him. "Aus! Aus!!" He continued to yell. It had felt so surreal that he was being shouted at like this. Most of the time, Herr Rheinhardt had given him so much praise and treated him like an equal and now he was screaming at him as if he were far lower than even the janitor. 

But just as he was about to scurry away, another person had entered the room. Ludwig sighed in relief as he recognised his closest colleague, Hans. 

_Hans! You have to help me! It’s Ludwig! You remember me!_

Hans did take notice of the German’s barks and instead gave a smile. “Hallo… aw what a fine dog you are.” He said, stroking his fur. 

Rheinhardt frowned “Is this your dog, Hans? You know very well that dogs are NOT allowed in the office!”

"Nein, he is not." Hans replied, "But I’d love to take care of him, if nobody else wants him. He looks hungry."

Rheinhardt sighed “Oh very well. You can keep the dog. Just please, take him home before he makes a mess on the floor!” 

Ludwig shot an angry glance at his boss. _You know better than anyone that I wouldn’t do that._

"Herr Gott Nochmal. Would you please shut up that hund?!" Rheinhardt cursed, losing his patience. 

Hans turned to Ludwig “Come on, boy. I’ll bring you home with me. We’ll do work at home, just like Ludwig often does until we find your owner. Is that okay, Herr Rheinhardt?”

"Ja, do whatever you can to get that dog out of here. Gruber is allergic to dogs, if you don’t remember." 

Hearing the way Rheinhardt was speaking to Hans had stirred some new sympathy in Ludwig for his colleague. He had no idea how much Hans was being condescended by his boss, especially since he was often treated rather well in comparison. But Hans had seemed to calm about it as he walked Ludwig to the car, even allowing him to sit at the front passenger seat. 

"We’re going to my apartment." Hans told him "But I think we need to give you a name, just so it’ll be easy to address each other. My name is Hans, and you…you can be called Fritz. How does that sound?"

 _You know my name, you dummkopf!_ Fritz shouted _._

Hearing the bark, Hans grinned, “I knew you’d like that! You look like a Fritz. Oh boy, I’ve always wanted a dog since I was a kid!” He exclaimed “But I could never get one because my sister was allergic. Guess it’s my lucky day!” 

Between being trapped in this current dog form and being told such dull childhood stories by Hans, Fritz couldn’t decide what was actually worse. But in the back of his mind, as they were driving through the street, he was thankful that at least Hans was not as cruel as Rheinhardt. 

"I should see how Ludwig is going." Hans said suddenly as he steered through the morning traffic. "He’s probably in the office working hard as usual. I should give him a ring anyway." He reached down to pick up his phone and rang. Fritz rolled his eyes, knowing that it was pointless. Nobody was going to reply.

Just as he had expected, there was nobody else on the line, so Hans decided to leave a message. 

"Hallo, Ludwig? It’s me, Hans. I’m just letting you know that I’m not coming into the office today. You wouldn’t believe it! I have my very own dog to take care of! It’s a long story so I’ll tell you once I come back to work. Give me a ring back, okay? Tschüss!" 

He hung up the phone and turned back to Fritz. “Pity he’s not on the phone. Probably too busy. Oh and look, we’re here now!”

To Fritz’s disappointment, they had stopped in front of a block of rather average looking apartments. As if he were reading the German’s thoughts, Hans began to apologise “I’m so sorry about this. I don’t have a very high salary so my humble dwelling is probably nothing like what you’re used to.” 

_Mein Gott, Hans. Don’t you ever listen? I AM Ludwig._

Hans patted him on the head. “You’re incredibly responsive, aren’t you? I think we’ll both get along just fine!” He took Ludwig upstairs with him until they had reached one of the last doors. Hans unlocked it and ushered him inside. 

Just as he had expected from seeing the exterior, the apartment was very sparse with furniture, although it did have some tasteful decorations. A couple of landscape paintings hung, whilst everything was so tidy and well organised. Hans drew out a beanbag onto the rug in front of the TV.

"You can sleep here if you want to. I don’t mind it if you wanted to sleep on my bed either, if you ever feel lonely." 

Fritz winced at the thought of sharing a bed with the man that he worked with. It was extremely unlikely that he was actually going to take that offer. 

Hans walked over to the kitchen and started to prepare a couple of ham rolls. “Will this do, Fritz? I don’t have any dog food here, but apparently *Kommissar Rex enjoys them! He threw one towards the Alsatian, and acting quickly he had managed to catch it between his teeth. 

"Wow! You’re a smart one." Hans remarked, "I just don’t get how you can be so well-trained and neglected by your owner like that. What a waste. Oh well! Now I’m going to do some paperwork. Would you like to join me?"

Annoyed that he was still unable to get the message across, Fritz curled up on the beanbag instead. He had seemed so exhausted after this whole ordeal. But even as he had closed his eyes, he could not fully relax. What was Frau Augustine doing now? And what about Gilbert? He wanted to return back and warn the Prussian, but in this position, he was utterly powerless. 

 

Meanwhile Gilbert was wondering around the house frantically. His silver hair was a mess and there were dark circles under his eyes, as he hadn’t slept all night. Ludwig had still not returned home and he was becoming very worried. _What could have possibly kept him at the office?_ He thought in panic. _He never stays back for that long._ It was also unnerving to know that Ludwig hadn’t even picked up the phone that evening when he did ring him.

But just as he was about to pick up the phone to ring the office for some answers, there was a knock at the door. Curious, and a little excited, Gilbert ran over to answer it. “I’m coming, Ludwig!” He shouted. 

Sure enough as he opened the door, he saw a familiar tall, blond German staring back at him, smiling. “Guten Morgen Gilbert…” Ludwig said with a smile as he stepped inside. “Oh Gott..I have missed you so much.” To Gilbert’s surprise, he had grabbed him by the chin and kissed him passionately, perhaps with a little bit too much passion for someone who had stayed back at the office all night. How Ludwig had all the energy to still do that, Gilbert had no idea.

"W-west.." Gilbert stammered, still taken aback by the kiss "I was so worried about you. What was keeping you back for so long?"

Ludwig chuckled “Oh don’t worry about that. The main thing is, is that I’m home now, aren’t I?” His blue eyes sparkled as he threw his arms around him once more. “I have missed you so much, meine liebe…”

Gilbert laughed slightly at this surprising act of affection “I know I’m so awesome, but I didn’t know that you had missed me _that_ much! But Ludwig, you still have work today, don’t you?”

The German scoffed “I was in the office all night. Why would I want to go back there? Hans can do all the work for me. He loves working hard and sucking up to the boss. Now…” He began, taking Gilbert by the shoulders “Can we do something together? It has been too long.” His lustful gaze was intent on the Prussian, something that was not very common.

The older Prussian gave a smile, amazed by how eager Ludwig was. It was quite a transition from the grumpy and serious German who had wanted to work all the time. If he were to turn down this offer, how long would it take for Ludwig to get into such a mood again? “Come on, you spoilt brat.” Gilbert joked, taking him by the hand and leading him upstairs. “I’ll give you exactly what you want.” 

Once they were in the bedroom, Ludwig immediately began to strip off all his clothes, too impatient to wait any longer. Gilbert joined him soon after. Yet, before Gilbert could begin to dominate him, the younger man had shoved him against the wall roughly, kissing him so hard that his lip bled. He struggled against his grip, but the taller man was much too strong. 

"Ludwig…" Gilbert groaned between kisses, his lip throbbing with pain "Shouldn’t we…shouldn’t we slow down a little?" 

The blond saw the bleed, but rather than being concerned, he merely smirked. “Oh…I’m sorry…am I too rough on you? I thought you could handle this sort of thing, soldier…”

Gilbert tried to smile, even though his lip ached “Ja…of course I’m used to it.” He said, trying not to show that he was in pain.

"Gut…" Ludwig purred approvingly. He was already hard in anticipation and Gilbert could also feel his body yearning for pleasure.  It was as if all the fear from before was slowly disappearing, as he was growing accustomed to Ludwig’s new behaviour. And quite frankly, he was enjoying it. 

They continued to exchange kisses, which ended up becoming less gentle and more violent. Still entranced in a state of lust, Ludwig had managed to throw the Prussian onto the bed and was prowling over his body as if he were prey. “Take me… ” Ludwig murmured, azure pools brightening fiercely. “Jetzt!” As he said this, he dug his fingernails into Gilbert’s back, causing the albino to cry out loudly. “Schnell!!” 

Gilbert ran his fingers down the blond’s torso slowly, grinning up at him in a tease. Yet Ludwig could not take it. Immediately he had seized the other man’s hand and directed it straight towards his own crotch. 

"Gott Verdammt…you don’t know what you’re doing to me. Quit torturing me, or I’ll make this hell for you."

The older nation cringed as he heard the icy tone in his voice. Ludwig was really not mucking around with this threat. Quickly, he began to fondle him, causing the German to moan. As he did so, the other reciprocated his actions, fondling him faster and harder. Gilbert groaned loudly. “N-Nein…this is too much…” He cried desperately. 

"Oh?" Ludwig asked, grinning. "Then I’ll stop right here."

"No!" Gilbert shouted, his eyes pleading, "Weiter…"  

To his relief, Ludwig continued to stroke him a little bit more slowly, yet just as he was about to reach his climax, he had let him go. 

"Sehr gut…" He gasped "Now…go inside me."

Gilbert was shaking “Nein…ein bißchen mehr…” He begged, his euphoria already wearing off from the abrupt ending. 

"GILBERT! I won’t ask you again. Get in me now!" 

The Prussian did what he was told. As soon as he was inside, he moved his hips backwards and forwards quickly, frightened of the rage that he would experience if he were to delay the process any longer. Ludwig sighed, closing his eyes and opening his legs wider so that he could encase Gilbert with his limbs. The albino intensified his actions, so much that Ludwig shouted out loud until they reached their climax. 

Exhausted, yet satisfied, Ludwig embraced the older nation, giving him a kiss on the mouth before falling asleep. Gilbert wrapped his arms around the German, mystified but fulfilled. His body quivered with delight as he nuzzled his head into Ludwig’s neck. Perhaps, he wouldn’t mind it if this side of Ludwig had came out more often for it was often quite difficult to get him in such a state. He sighed happily and closed his eyes, falling asleep in the arms of who he thought was his brother. 

 

But contrary to Gilbert’s thoughts, Ludwig was really a German shepherd named Fritz, who was curled up on the beanbag of a house on the other side of town. The canine had grown bored and was wandering around the house. He had grown hungry and knew that he would be completely incapable of feeding himself. Out of luck, he stumbled into a room where he thought would be a study and saw Hans sitting at his desk finishing off his paperwork. 

_Hans!_

The bark caught Hans’ attention right away for he had quickly put down his pen and had turned to the dog. “Hallo Fritz! Are you hungry again? How about if we head off to the delicatessen this afternoon and you can pick the sort of food you want? Or even better, we can have lunch here and go for a walk in the park together. What do you say?”

_Are you an idiot? Dogs can’t talk._

Hans smiled and stroked his fur. “Good boy! I feel like staying at home too. Actually, I need to check up on Ludwig. He still hasn’t called me back yet. Einen Moment bitte!” 

The Alsatian rolled his eyes. _Of course he hasn’t replied, you dummkopf. Because he’s been transformed into a dog! Would you just please take a minute to actually analyse the situation before jumping to conclusions?!_ His patience was fast running out. Hans was even thicker and more oblivious about things than he thought. _Think, Hans. Think about all the strange things that have been happening lately. The uneven hours, my absence from work…and why would a random dog show up at the office?_

"Oh ja ja. Calm down. I’ll feed you soon." Hans replied to the angry barking, much to the dog’s disappointment.He turned back to his phone, dialled a few digits and waited. But something was not quite right. Even though Fritz was more than aware that he was not available to pick up the phone, Hans had received an answer. 

"Hallo Ludwig! So good to see you. Oh sorry..did I catch you at a bad time. Forgive me. I just called to tell you about my great news! What do you mean you don’t care?" Suddenly a frown had appeared on his brow as he tried to figure out why the German was suddenly so rude. Of course he had been quite curt with him before, but it was unusual for him to actually snap at him without a proper reason. 

He looked down to see Fritz looking both alarmed and confused at the situation, and petted him on the head for reassurance. “It’s okay, Fritz. He normally likes dogs. I’m sure he’ll like you if he had met you too!” 

"Are you talking to that stupid dog now?! What the hell has gotten into you, Hans?" Ludwig yelled. 

The German’s eyes widened as he turned back to the phone “I-I thought you would be happy for me…but anyway, have you arrived in the office yet?”

"That’s none of your business!" And with that, the line went dead.

For a moment, Hans sat back on the chair to try and think. This behaviour was very strange for the usually serious German. But he had no idea what could have been causing it. Perhaps it was stress again, or maybe he had just wanted to be left alone. But it was unlike Ludwig to behave in an erratic manner without a proper reason.

Fritz’s heart thumped as he barked to try and get Hans’s attention _Snap out of it Hans! Don’t you see? That wasn’t me on the line. Please, take me there!_

But rather than understanding the dog’s alarm and knowing that he had wanted to leave, he gave him another pat. His light-green eyes looked sad that it hurt Fritz to look at him like that. From all the times he had known and worked with him, he had never seen such an optimistic, friendly and happy-go-lucky kind of man look so depressed and worried. Oddly enough, he was beginning to understand him more this way, but was distressed that he could not reassure him or let him know what was actually going on. 

Under these unusual circumstances, Fritz placed a paw on Hans’ knee as if in a way to comfort him and bring him out of such a gloomy mood. 

Feeling the paw on his knee, Hans looked at the dog and smiled, petting him on the head. “Well, I’m glad that at least you understand me, Fritz. As they say, a dog’s a man’s best friend! Now…I have to make you your lunch.” With that, he stood up and walked over to the kitchen to prepare his new friend another ham roll. Fritz followed the man, sitting patiently on the floor for his lunch and thinking frantically of a way in which he could escape. He didn’t want to be stuck as a dog forever in his coworker’s house while there was someone else impersonating him. 

He recalled that fateful evening in the office, his encounter with Frau Augustine and her threats. 

_We all know that only one of us can have Gilbert._

_Of course!_ Fritz thought furiously. It was her doing. She had somehow used her witchcraft, just like last time to take on the form of another to be with his brother. And that was his own body. He inwardly cursed himself for being so stupid. Had he not implied that he was the only person who Gilbert would fall for, perhaps she would not have gone to the measures that she had. He had provided her with the idea, and the opportunity to do this. And now, he was not even sure if he could get out of this situation. 

As Hans continued to prepare lunch, Fritz walked towards the window and stared outside across the bustling streets of Berlin. Overhead, he could see the distant shape of the Berlin Television Tower and some of the remains of the Berlin wall. All the memories of his reunification with his brother came flooding back as he recalled the time when he had first set eyes on the albino’s frail form and the way he had nursed him back to health. Time after time, Gilbert had always taken care of him, and he had always looked after the Prussian. But now, it was practically impossible to check up on him. From hearing the rude way that Ludwig…Frau Augustine spoke to Hans, he had become tense, realising that she was probably not going to treat Gilbert properly. He knew exactly what the old woman was capable of, and how desperate she had been to retrieve Gilbert’s love, even if it meant turning the brothers’ lives upside down. 

But whatever the circumstances, and whatever the cost, Fritz refused to give up on this. He barked at the window, drawing Hans’ attention towards him once more, perhaps in a way to give the hint that he had wanted to go outside. 

"Hmm? You want to go out?" Hans tossed another ham roll towards him and took another to eat for himself.

The German shepherd continued barking frantically, not even taking his eyes off the window.

"Oh alright! We’ll go for a walk." But as he said this, an idea came to him. Perhaps the dog had an idea of where his owner was…yet he was a little sad about the idea of letting Fritz go, especially after he had warmed up to him so quickly. 

Once they were outside, Fritz continued running towards the opposite direction of the park, where they were headed. Hans chased after the dog, almost out of breath. “Mein Gott! You’re fast. Please, slow down. I don’t know my way around here.” 

But Fritz refused to listen. Out in the open, it was his chance. He was going to make his way to his own place by foot if he had to. If he had to spend even a night at Fritz’s house, he was frightened with what Frau Augustine had in mind with Gilbert. To even hesitate for another second was unforgivable.

"Fritz! Where are you going?! Fritz!" Hans panted as he stopped to take a breath. He was not used to running so much. "We’re almost out of the street! Come on, if you want to go out that far, couldn’t we at least drive there?"

Fritz stopped running as he realised that Hans was right. It would be extremely unrealistic to walk all the way to the house. From memory, he knew that he had to take the autobahn to cross over from the city centre to his place near the woods. Reluctantly, he turned around and followed Hans back.

As they drove from the autobahn towards the more remote side of town, Fritz continued to bark, as if to indicate for him to continue driving. Hans frowned as they began to take a turn into the forest. It was such a familiar place to him but it made no sense as to why they were going to this place. He remembered going to this very house to give papers to his colleague while he was unable to reach the office. 

This place was none other than Ludwig’s home. 

"Hold on a minute!" Hans shouted, as he drove closer to the house "I could get into trouble for this. Fritz…are you sure this is the right place? This is Ludwig’s house! He’ll kill me."

But the dog continued to bark, too stubborn to take no for an answer. If Hans was really stupid enough to turn around and go back, he had planned to jump out of the car. Even though it would be dangerous and irrational to do so, he was determined to do whatever it took to get home. 

Hans finally gave in and continued to drive until they reached the front yard. He stopped the car and took Fritz upstairs with him. He knew that this was crazy and dangerous, as well as illegal to barge into someone’s property without an invitation but from all the things he had heard about German shepherds and their intelligence, he felt that it was wrong to doubt this canine’s instinct. Perhaps Ludwig or his brother had met the dog. It was a possibility that maybe either of them knew the owner. 

He walked up towards the front door, giving it a knock as Fritz stood beside him, barking impatiently. 

"Shh, Fritz! We don’t want to disturb Ludwig from working." But contrary to his expectations, it was Gilbert who had answered the door. 

"Oh hey Hans." Gilbert looked puzzled at the coworker who had showed up announced at his house, but he gave a smile as he saw the dog beside him "What a cute dog!" He said, patting Fritz on the head. Fritz barked approvingly, glad to finally see his brother again. "Do you need to see Ludwig? I’ll go get him for you." 

"Ja bitte." Hans replied, "I’m so sorry for this. I know he’s probably busy but I was wondering if either of you know the owner of this dog. It seems as if he’s pretty familiar with this place." 

Gilbert raised an eyebrow as he looked at the dog carefully. Fritz’s ears pricked up. Some hope stirred in his heart for there might have been a chance that Gilbert had recognised him. 

_Gilbert…please, you must know who I am!_

"Du bist ein süßer Hund!" Gilbert exclaimed before turning to Hans, much to Ludwig’s disappointment "I’ve never seen him before though. West! Get over here!"

Sure enough, the blond walked to the door, but his face fell as he saw Hans and the Alsatian. 

"What are you doing here?" He asked icily, his blue eyes piercing into Hans’ gaze. 

"W-we didn’t mean to inconvenience you." Hans stammered quickly, getting intimidated by Ludwig. "It’s just that, Fritz here seems to be really interested to visit this place and I’m not sure whether you may know of his owner."

Ludwig frowned “Nein, you idiot. I’ve never seen that mongrel before in my life. Now get off my property!” 

"But-"

"I am really getting sick of hearing about you and your dog." Ludwig replied impatiently "You really are stupid, aren’t you? No wonder the boss likes me more than you." He crossed his arms, not even taking his eyes off the colleague. 

Hans felt as if he had shrunken even smaller by the other man’s body language and words. He looked down, frightened by the man’s anger. Never, had he ever been so insulted before. Not even Herr Rheinhardt was as brutal. 

"Well?! Leave! And don’t you ever come back. And take that disgusting mongrel with you!" 

As Ludwig’s request, Hans sprinted back to the car. He saw Fritz still sitting in front of the door, growling at the German. 

"Fritz! What are you doing?" Hans called out nervously "We have to go. He doesn’t want us here!" 

But the dog kept his eyes on the blond impostor, growling at him angrily with all teeth bared. 

_You can’t get away with this, Frau Augustine! I know it’s you. And I won’t leave here until Gilbert is with me!_

The imposter widened his eyes, horrified and angry. “Get out of here, you filthy beast! Go! Or are you just as stupid as your owner?”

Fritz continued to growl.

Ludwig narrowed his eyes, and knelt down so that they were on the same level. “Okay then…even if you saw right through my scheme, there is no way you can get out of this. Gilbert will only have eyes for me.” As he put a hand on the dog’s head, the contact radiated some strange, unseen waves that made Fritz wince and whimper in pain. Ludwig leaned closer, grinning at the canine’s pained expression. “I really do enjoy seeing you like this…you look so weak, so helpless. Now I’m sure that you can understand what it’s like to feel unwanted and unloved. Leave, if you know what’s good for you.”

Fritz struggled at the pain, growling. He was so determined to bite the imposter, but with faint horror, he realised that by doing so, he would probably be inflicting scars on his own body. It was a difficult situation. How could he possibly destroy Frau Augustine without destroying himself? 

"Komm, Fritz! You heard what Ludwig said!" Hans called in the distance, his voice shaky. Hesitantly, Fritz turned around and walked back to the car with him. 

Once the coworker and his dog were out of sight, the scheming German turned back and headed into the house. “Good riddance…” He muttered under his breath. As he walked into the lounge, he took hold of Gilbert’s waist, leaning in to kiss him. But the Prussian moved away in revulsion.

"West…what has gotten into you?" 

Surprised at the question, his gaze darkened. “Why are you asking that?” He asked. The blond moved closer to the older nation, causing the other to move away even further. As he did so, he had backed him into the corner, leaving him trapped. 

"I’ll do whatever I please." Ludwig said firmly "And if you have a problem with that, then why are you here?" He moved a hand into the albino’s hair "You didn’t mind me doing this not to long ago, if I remember correctly…isn’t this…isn’t this what you wanted?" 

The Prussian gulped nervously, shaking as the German’s fingers continued to thread through his hair. His mind was filled with so much confusion. Usually when Ludwig did this, he had enjoyed it, but now he felt so afraid, so fearful. It was as if all the thrill and excitement from their last encounter had quickly sapped away. 

"You used to joke about me being a prude…" Ludwig whispered, "And you’d always have such a hard time to coax me into the bedroom…but now you’re so frightened. Why, Gilbert? Why? Don’t you love me?" His hand gripped Gilbert’s hair, tightening his grasp "You and me…together. You’re the only one who loves me the most. I’m the only one who loves you the most. We’re practically made for each other." As he said this, he pulled his hair, causing Gilbert to cry out in pain. "Oh, liebe bruder…what is there to be frightened about? We’re alone together at last." 

He kissed him gently on both cheeks, before kissing him more firmly on the mouth. Gilbert’s heart raced as he felt himself reacting strongly to the kisses, reciprocating the younger man’s actions. “West…” He murmured “I…I do love you. But I’m just worried. You seem to be acting so out of character today.”

"Shhh…" Ludwig hushed, putting a finger on his lips "Please, don’t speak. I just have so much love for you that it’s hard to contain it for so long. You, out of all people would understand me." 

Gilbert closed his eyes as he felt Ludwig unbutton his shirt before making a trail of kisses down his neck and over his torso. He sighed, enjoying the contact, but his head was still spinning with so many unanswered questions. _Why, West? Why do you make it sound as though we haven’t been together for a while?_

As Ludwig slowly removed the rest of the Prussian’s clothing before stripping down himself, he kept Gilbert silenced on the floor, shaking and perplexed. Even as Gilbert had tried to protest, he couldn’t stop his body from yearning for Ludwig’s touch. The younger sibling had climbed on top of him and made his way into the entrance. He moved quickly, his rough actions hurting but pleasuring the albino. Tears fell from the Prussian’s eyes as he gasped and moaned, unable to control what was happening to himself. It was as if his mind and his body were separated from one another. 

It was only after they had reached their climax that Ludwig noticed how silent and weepy Gilbert was. He brushed away his tears gently and stared deeply into his scarlet eyes. 

"There’s no need to cry…meine liebe." He said soothingly "This is what you wanted."

"I-I just want…I just want to be left alone." Gilbert finally choked, disentangling himself from the taller blond "Bitte…" He felt so dizzy with confusion that he was about to faint. When did it suddenly seem so wrong and dirty? He loved Ludwig so much. As he got up, he winced, realising that his body was covered with bruises while his back ached from being pressed down on the floor for too long. "I need to go away and think." Gilbert said quickly, feeling guilty. His own brother did deserve an explanation, after all. "I’m sorry."

Yet rather than feeling ashamed and understanding, Ludwig grabbed his arm and pulled him back. 

"What is there to think about, Gilbert?" Ludwig asked accusingly "Do you not love me anymore, is that it? Since when was it so wrong for us to make love? ANSWER ME!" 

Gilbert froze, shocked at the sudden outburst. “I-I do.” he whispered “But I don’t know why you’re like this. I just want some answers. What happened to you last night before you came back from the office? You seem to be so angry now…”

Ludwig crossed his arms “I don’t even have to listen to this!” He spat “You used to be so passionate with me, and now it’s like I disgust you! Well…how about if I disgust you now? Take that!” At the last word, Gilbert felt a slap against his face. He struggled to escape, but Ludwig had managed to pull him down again, throwing punches to his face. “How about this?! Does this disgust you? Realising that he was getting no answers, he became more impatient “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to talk anymore? You were always so good at voicing your opinion!” 

Finally, when he had enough of the beating, Gilbert was left on the floor, bleeding and bruised. The German had already gone upstairs by then, allowing Gilbert time to recollect his thoughts. But the only thing he could really do was tremble and cry as he discovered this unpleasant side to his brother. The side that he did not want to see.  

What was going to become of him? 

 

Back at Hans’ apartment, Fritz was barking at the door, scratching it desperately to be let out. But Hans gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Fritz, but we’re clearly not welcome. In fact, it strikes me odd as to why you’d want to go to Ludwig’s house.” He turned to look outside the window, watching the fiery tangerine streaks paint the sky as the sun began to set. It was so unsettling to see the way Ludwig was behaving, almost as if it was too strange to conceive. Even though he was merely a colleague of Ludwig, he felt as though he needed to discover more about what was really happening to him. Despite the fact that the German had behaved so coldly to him, he always saw him as an equal, perhaps even his only friend. But overnight, all that had disappeared. 

"You know, it may sound crazy but I’m pretty concerned about Ludwig." Hans said quietly, still staring outside "He was basically the only friend I had at work…I’ve always been pretty lonely, actually. I guess that probably explains why I’m so happy to have you." 

Fritz looked up at the colleague, his eyes wide in concern. Although he had found him rather annoying to listen to, he was starting to feel more sympathetic. While working with him, he always noticed how poorly Hans was treated by the boss and ignored by the other coworkers, even though he was so nice and friendly. A day ago, he never would have thought in such a way, but now he was beginning to understand things from the other man’s point of view. 

_…I’m sure that you can understand what it’s like to feel unwanted and unloved._

He recalled those harsh words spoken by his own voice that day, realising with dread about how accurate they were. 

To bring Hans out of his lonely thoughts, he sat by his side as the German stared out of the window, giving him the company that he had failed to provide him whilst he was in human form. He hated being stuck in this situation but felt as if he was slowly becoming kinder to others. 

If he could have his body back, he would take this chance to be kinder to Hans…just one more chance. But as he stared back at his reflection in the window, he knew that perhaps this was a very rare chance that he would receive. 

Hans immediately brightened, seeing the dog by him and patted him on the head. “Well, I’m off to bed!” He said with a smile “Good night, Fritz. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

But after he had crawled into bed to turn off the light, he felt something warm at his feet which caused him to sit up. Fritz was curled at the foot of the bed, sleeping. 

Hans smiled, stroked his friend for relieving him of his loneliness and rolled over to go to sleep. 

Back at the house, Gilbert was lying awake in his bed, too anxious and pained to sleep. He tossed and turned, struggling to ignore the anguish that he had experienced hours ago. He was so distraught with how Ludwig had treated him, as if he were a plaything. Why was the man so desperate? Perhaps, if he had ran away to live over at Roderich’s house for a while Ludwig might calm down. Yet the back of his mind was still filled was so much doubt. 

A quiet creak at the door halted this perplexing train of thought. Gilbert closed his eyes, pretending to already be asleep. 

"Gilbert…are you awake?" A voice called.

The Prussian screwed his eyes shut, trying his hardest to ignore the German. But the younger sibling wouldn’t have it. There was a light padding of footsteps as Ludwig walked closer to the bed and sat on the edge beside what would be Gilbert’s sleeping form. 

"I am so very sorry, bruder…" Ludwig said quietly "I don’t know what came over me. He moved a hand up to touch Gilbert’s hair, but the older nation remained still. "I’m just so frightened that I’d lose you. We’ve been through so much together…I just thought that it would bring us even closer." His voice trembled slightly as he took a deep breath before continuing "I know I had been out of line." He muttered, glancing down at the man’s pale form and admiring the way he had blended in with the blanket. _So doll like…so perfect._ If he could keep this beauty forever, he would, no matter what the cost. 

"I just don’t want you to leave me!" He sobbed suddenly, shocking Gilbert "Why can’t things be back to the way they were…in the old days?" 

The albino opened his eyes with a start and spun around to see the German sitting beside him, gripping what had appeared to be an old knife in his hand. Never, had Gilbert seen such a knife before. Yet he was more concerned as to why Ludwig was holding the knife, rather than where it had come from. “You see this? This is what all the brave Germanic warriors had.  And this was what I could not be for you. Perhaps if I..” Ludwig began to move the blade closer to his wrist, tears dripping from his eyes.

"No!" Gilbert shouted. "Ludwig, don’t!" 

But the blond had ignored the Prussian, drawing the blade against his flesh. Crimson dripped onto the white sheets. 

"Nein! You fool!" Gilbert had leapt over to the German, pulling the knife out of his hand and putting it on the bedside table. He was shaking his head, furious and horrified. "Ludwig! Ludwig, WHY?!" 

Ludwig continued to sob, even as Gilbert had rushed over to get the first aid kit, attending and addressing to his wounds as quickly as he had back when he was a medic during the war. “Why?! West…West…” He took each of his hands gently, peering into his red-rimmed eyes. “Why do you want to die, Ludwig? Is it stress? Bruder…talk to me.” 

The azure pools slowly met the scarlet ones. “I-I’m scared.” 

"What are you scared of?" Gilbert squeezed one of his hands in comfort "You’re the bravest person I know." 

"I was just scared that you’d leave me. You were so angry before. I have never felt so rejected. Please, Gilbert…promise me, promise me that you won’t ever leave me." 

Gilbert gave a wary smile “You know I won’t ever leave you, West. But this…this isn’t you. I just want to know…what has been going through your mind? Did someone threaten you? I want to know the truth!” 

Ludwig rested his head against Gilbert’s lap, wanting to dodge all those questions. He had felt so safe now and as he lay there, he had felt so small, protected by his older brother. He knew exactly why this relationship was so worthy and it made him all the more determined to cling onto it.

It was the best feeling and he didn’t want it to end. Not now, not ever.

"Could I spend the night with you?" He asked hoarsely. 

The Prussian sighed. It was useless trying to extract information out of him. “Ja…natürlich.” He moved aside to allow room for Ludwig to lie beside him. As the younger brother nestled beside Gilbert, he wrapped his arms around him, leaning his lips at the nape of his neck. 

"Ich liebe dich…mein schatz." 

 

During the next few days, Gilbert felt as if he was slowly becoming a prisoner in his own home. Each hour stretched on painfully for what seemed to be an eternity, and every waking moment was not without fear. Even though Ludwig was meant to be working, the German had stayed at home in order to keep an eye on him.  He took a glimpse out of the window, noticing the bright blue sky and welcoming sunny weather. But when he had asked Ludwig if he could go outside, the German stopped him.

“I know you want to go out there, but it could be dangerous. Besides, what’s wrong with staying in here with me?”

 _Dangerous?_ It seemed that the only real danger was Ludwig’s over protectiveness. With some regret, he recalled the time when Ludwig had asked him to join him in the office, that day before he had completely changed his behaviour. It only occurred to him that if he had gone there with him then, maybe he would have found out what had changed his brother…and how to stop it from happening.

“West…it’s summer. We’ve been cooped up in here for too long. Why don’t we just go for a walk?”

The German’s fierce blue gaze turned to him “Gilbert, no.” He said firmly “I want you to stay here where it’s safe.”

“I don’t feel very safe.” Gilbert admitted. “In fact, I feel like you’re holding me hostage here. Bitte…let me go.”

Ludwig sighed and moved close to him to wrap and arm around his shoulders “There will be plenty of time for that, mein schatz. But right now is not the time.”

“When, Ludwig? When?” Gilbert was getting impatient, and there was a hint of nervousness in his tone as the other gripped his shoulder roughly. 

“If you are very good. I’ll take you to the place you really want to go.” The younger blond replied, his breath close to Gilbert’s ear.

_As he said this, Gilbert’s mind was filled with many wondrous visions, even better than what he had seen usually. He recalled the glory of his past, as clear as day. It had seemed so familiar, yet at the same time so foreign, as if it were some special form of heaven. He could see himself walking in and out of a splendid palace that seemed gold in the sun, with the Prussian flag still hanging proudly on its post. The interior was filled with rich baroque and rococo architecture, the finest that he had ever seen. The sky was a brilliant blue and the air was warm, yet the sun did not burn his face.  Instead of his regular clothes, he was cloaked, head to toe in glorious, old-fashioned military dress. And then, sitting on what appeared to be a throne was a tall, handsome German dressed in a similar fashion. At first he could not recognise him, but it was Ludwig with his hair combed down for a change. He had looked younger in this way and more alluring. Gilbert reached out a gloved hand to take his, but the distance between him and Ludwig widened. Desperately, he ran towards the throne, his arms out stretched._

_“West…West please let me come with you.”_

_The younger German merely smiled, addressing him with distant, azure eyes. He beckoned him with his hand, yet Gilbert could not reach him._

In a single blink, those bittersweet visions were gone. Seeing those visions had awakened a thirst in him and he wanted to come back to them. Was this truly what he was going to experience if he followed Ludwig’s every word?

“Only if you listen to me, will you be able to experience more of this.” Ludwig whispered. “I promise.”

The albino nodded “I’ll do whatever I can…”

Ludwig rested a hand against his face “Gut. I know you will.” The hand stayed there for a while, until the action became disconcerting. He struggled to move away, but Ludwig gripped him with his other hand, keeping him close.

“West…what are you doing?”

With one swift motion, the other lifted him and threw him on the bed, pinning him down. “Don’t leave me.” He whispered harshly, the words causing him to shiver as he shifted his hand through his shirt and up his chest. “And everything will be exactly like how it was. Bitte…” With that, he gave him a rough kiss to the mouth, which almost made Gilbert oddly queasy. The albino struggled to sit up, trying to comprehend what was actually happening to him, but he found himself slowly taking off his clothes, obeying Ludwig’s every command. One word flittered out of his lips too quickly before he could even control it.

“Niemals.”

Ludwig smiled darkly, taking the word as his signal and went ahead to claim Gilbert’s body for his own.

 

As each day went by, Fritz became more and more nervous for the albino who was living with an impostor for a brother. He had eaten considerably less, which had worried Hans in turn. Seeing the dog so on edge and barking at the door, Hans decided to take him out again. 

"Do you really want to go see Ludwig again?" Hans sighed, looking up from the newspaper that he had given up on focusing on. 

_Ja! I need to save my brother, you dummkopf!_

He gave a small smile at the dog and put down the newspaper to pat him on the head. “I want to know what’s got you so interested in him, but this could cost my job.” He shrugged. He knew that a job could be found again, whereas a friend’s trust could be lost forever. These past few days had brought him some happiness and company that he had never dreamed of beforehand. This was what he had owed to Fritz. And he was willing to sacrifice his job for him.

Hans had taken Fritz to the car and drove towards Ludwig’s home via the autobahn. But even though he had seemed so confident to make this journey, he was a little skittish. As he steered, he noticed how much his palms were perspiring, especially at the thought of meeting a violent Ludwig once more. Yet another part of him was determined to see this through. If Fritz wanted to go there, that was where he had to take him. 

Once they had arrived to the house, the sun was beginning to dip on the horizon. The last rays filtered through the leaves as the German and his dog entered shakily into the property again. Hans stroked Fritz’s fur to reassure him slightly, although Fritz was anything but relaxed. As they stood outside the door, Fritz growled, barking at the door angrily. 

But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the curtain quiver slightly yet nobody went over to answer the door. 

"Come on!" Hans called out "I know you’re home. Please, just open the door. I only want to talk with you. That’s all. I don’t want to be your enemy." 

"Go away…" 

Hans jumped slightly at the voice. It was so quiet that it could have gone unnoticed, yet it was the tone which he could not ignore. It sounded wheezy, and it sounded desperate. But most of all, it sounded defeated; as if it had given up all hope to fight against whatever was eating it. 

"Please, let me in." Hans said firmly.

"No. I can’t…I can’t let you in. I can’t let anyone in. Ludwig is all that matters to me now." 

He finally recognised the voice. Gilbert. It struck him that the normally cheerful albino could sound so weak. Something was clearly dreadfully wrong and he couldn’t wait another minute outside. 

"Gilbert!" Hans shouted "What is Ludwig doing to you?! Let us in." He shook the door struggling to open it, but it remained locked. "Gilbert!"

Fritz clawed at the door desperately, chipping off some of the paint. 

Hans shook his head. It was no use. He had to find another way to get inside. He looked at the door from top to bottom and decided to take more drastic measures. 

He took a few steps back, deciding to do a run up to the door to knock it down. Fritz quickly moved aside to allow Hans space. Hans ran towards the house and with one mighty, but clumsy kick, he knocked down the door. 

To his surprise, Gilbert was nowhere in sight, yet Fritz could sense that he was not too far behind. The canine walked quickly upstairs. Confused, Hans followed his lead. The air was still and it was deathly silent, but Fritz knew straightaway that his brother was in the bedroom…and that he was in danger. He knocked open the door. 

It was oddly dark at first, but as the two walked into the room, they could see two trembling figures in the gloom. Gilbert stood, shaking as Ludwig held him tightly in an embrace. For a moment, it had seemed so harmless, just two brothers hugging one another, yet tears were falling from the Prussian’s eyes. Ludwig stroked his hair gently, yet his other hand grasped him tightly, refusing to let him go. 

"Was ist los?!" Hans gasped in surprise. 

Ludwig’s cold gaze quickly switched from his brother to the intruder. His eyes were filled was so much rage, yet he was smiling…perhaps a little too much. “How nice of you to join us. Although, I don’t recall ever asking you to visit us again. But you’re too late. We’re leaving here forever and you’ll never be able to stop us.” 

Hans looked astonished “What are you talking about? Leaving?! Why?!”

He laughed, “You really are stupid, aren’t you? I’m taking Gilbert with me and we’ll escape this wretched world forever. Just you watch.” In the hand that grasped Gilbert, there was a shining blade, possibly from an antique knife.  Hans had not even noticed it before. “It was so terribly foolish of you to get involved, Hans. Foolish! I wanted to make this work, and yet now I have an outsider. But you won’t mess this up. I was more careful this time.” 

Fritz barked angrily. 

_No! You can’t get away with this, Frau Augustine! I will expose you once and for all!_

Hans looked at Fritz in alarm and back to Ludwig “Why is he barking for?” 

Ludwig rolled his eyes and turned to the dog “Expose me, you say? How? You’re no longer strong; you’re merely a lesser being. I had been searching for Gilbert for so long. He was my love, and you chose to steal him away! But now, I have a way where we will be together forever.” With that, an inhuman cackle came from his mouth, like a mix of several, high-pitched voices. A cacophony that shook Hans and silenced everything else around them. 

The colleague shook his head, his eyes filled with fear “Wh-what? I don’t understand. You’re talking to a dog?! Why? What do you want with Fritz? How is he to steal Gilbert away?” But as he said this, he realised that this was too unusual to be making any sense. If Ludwig wasn’t himself…then did this mean that Fritz was…

Hans put a hand to his mouth, all too aware that the dog that was barking beside him was really his colleague the whole time. 

"Ja. That’s right." The blond said, reading his thoughts. He took a step close to his colleague "I am indeed not Ludwig. But…how does it matter? I’m still Ludwig in his eyes anyway." He cackled once more before continuing, "That dog you have been speaking to and who has been giving you solace, is nothing more than your faithful colleague. But don’t you think that things are better this way? You’re a lonely man. You always have been. Now you have some company. Company that you didn’t have when he was human."

_Don’t listen to him! It’s a trap!_

The impostor turned suddenly towards Fritz “You can’t prove it. I’m far more powerful than you.” 

But it was as if Hans could not hear those menacing words. He still looked at the dog longingly. Whoever or whatever had embodied his colleague seemed to know him very well. He was very lonely before seeing this dog, but how could he continue on with life knowing that Fritz was really Ludwig? 

"Oh Hans…" The blond moved closer and put a hand to the other man’s cheek, causing him to jolt "Poor, lonely Hans. You know, I can always tell a lonely person when I see one. But don’t you see? I’ve done you a _favour_. I’ve helped reach my true love and at the same time, I’ve helped you find solace.”

Hans shook his head in disbelief “No…you know nothing about me!”

The impostor drew closer to him. The hand that was on Hans’ cheek stroked him gently, as if it were trying to sooth someone who was crying. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. I know many things about you. I know a lot about the people who get involved with me.”

_For a brief second, a trail of memories flashed before Hans’ eyes. Being alone in the schoolyard, losing his one and only playmate, his sister when he was young…the sad, broken expressions of his parents as they learned of the dreadful news from the doctor. And then more recent memories of being so alone during work arrived._

"Don’t you see?" The blond asked again as the memories vanished and he was in the bedroom once again. "You’ve experienced so many losses as a young man. But after finding that dog, you’ve been so content. Don’t you want to have that again? Or do you want to go back to reliving those memories of loneliness? It’s all up to you…but I wouldn’t make a stupid decision. I myself had wasted so many years from making the wrong decision. I spent most of my years as a spinster…but now I’m making everything right. We’ll live happily ever after like in a fairy tale, ja?" 

Hans felt slightly swayed at those words, but a sharp pain had drawn him back to reality. He looked down, realising that Fritz had bitten him on the hand. 

_Don’t fall for it, Hans. This is wrong._

"No." Hans said suddenly. 

"What?!" The blond demanded 

"I don’t care for loneliness." Hans said firmly "In fact, I’m used to it. If I were to destroy another person’s life to make my own more comfortable, it would be even more painful than any pain that loneliness could bring me. Now please…I don’t want to create any trouble, but I just want you to, I don’t know, cast a spell so that Ludwig gets his body back. That’s all. And then I’ll leave you in peace." 

The German scoffed “A peacemaker? Ha! What a joke. You speak as if you’re so wise, and yet you really have no idea what has happened between these brothers or anything about me. Well, Gilbert was mine. Ludwig stole him from me. I had tried so hard to get him back, many times. But he could not fall for me even as I had made myself as beautiful as I could. He only really had feelings for his own brother. It was sick! Yet I had been clever, so very clever. And now I have the chance to change things.” At that, he moved away from Hans and went back to Gilbert, who was still shaking in shock. 

He smoothed back his hair gently from his teary red eyes, smiling at him sweetly. “Now, mein Schatz. I want you to do something for me…I’m going to put this knife through you, but it won’t hurt a bit. You’ll just fall asleep for a very long time…And then, I can take you with me and we can flee back to the old kingdom together, just like how things used to be. You still want that too, don’t you?”

"Ja…" Gilbert murmured, peering into the reassuring blue eyes before him "I will do everything for you."

"Then, let’s be reunited together…just like those years ago." Saying this, he readied the knife and moved it towards him. 

But in an instance, Fritz had leapt up, knocking the knife out of the German’s hand and onto the floor. The impostor glared at the canine furiously. 

"Why are you trying to stop us?! Gilbert wants this just as much as I do." 

Yet just as the blond was about to pick up the knife, Hans was suddenly in front of him, holding the blade close to his neck. 

"No, he does not! You’re trying to trick him!" Hans shouted in horror "And I don’t want to do this, but you leave me with no other choice." 

Meanwhile, Fritz had walked over to the albino and placed a paw over the Prussian’s hand. In an instant, his hand had stopped shaking. He ran his other hand over the dog’s fur, sobbing as he did so. Tears fell into the fur as he dreaded his own fate. But as this occurred, the fur slowly changed into human flesh and in a few moments, it was his own brother that was sitting before him. 

"L-Ludwig?" Gilbert stammered, surprised at the unusual transformation. He turned to look at the impostor but in his place, Frau Augustine stood there in her original, terrifying form. She glared at Hans as he still clutched onto the knife, yet the colleague was no longer so scared. 

"No!" She shouted angrily "You fool! You have broken the spell!" But she glanced at the Prussian who had clutched onto his brother’s hand gratefully. "Please, Gilbert. Don’t you want to be with me? I’ve searched for you for so long. Last time I was not so successful, but now we can finally be together. Just take the knife, and I’ll become like the brother that you love. I’ll be _anything_ you want. Anything.”

Gilbert blinked as he slowly ebbed out of what had seemed like a trance “Nein. I can’t do that. I know you for what you really are. I rather live with the real Ludwig than a miserable imitation.” 

The old woman’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped to those harsh words that he was saying. “No…you don’t mean that. I’ll put it all right. I am the only one you need, Gilbert. I’ve already said this before. Please…just give me this one chance to prove it to you.” 

He turned to Hans “Hand me the knife.” He requested. “I need to end this once and for all.” Hans shook his head frantically. 

"No, this isn’t right! I mean I know what she did wasn’t right either but you shouldn’t have to resort to violence as well! Don’t become like her." 

Gilbert sighed, looking at Hans wearily “She deserves to die! I can’t let her wreak havoc on our lives again. Please, give me the knife.”

But it was Ludwig who had stood up to her. He drew himself to his full height, frowning down at her. “Frau Augustine. This all has to stop now. You’ve failed, once again. Whatever you do or say will never change things between Gilbert and I. Now get out of our lives and don’t come back!” 

At first, the woman looked shocked at his words, but she recovered quickly. “You have no right to tell me what I can or cannot do. Gilbert loves me and only me. Tell me, Gilbert! Who do you really love?”

It was Gilbert’s turn to confront Frau Augustine, yet he decided to be more gentle than his brother “I really did like you. Once. You were so kind to me when we first met at the antique store, yet you became greedy. You could have probably won my heart. But you didn’t. Nothing can conquer true love.” As he said this, he glanced at his brother. “Bruder…I am so sorry that I didn’t see this. If I had known what she did to you, I would have done everything in my power to stop it. Please forgive me.”

Ludwig dismissed him “There’s no time for apologies.” He said sternly, “Gilbert. I want to know…who do you really love?” 

"I love you, West." Gilbert replied promptly "I always have and I always will. You know that. But it’s time for you to go, Großmutter. I hope that one day you find happiness too. But that happiness is not with me." With that, he kissed her gently on the cheek. 

The woman was furious, but speechless at how forgiving the Prussian was. For once in her long life, she was dizzy with so much confusion. What did he mean? Happiness? How? Yet before she could voice her thoughts, a hairline crack began to appear on the same area where Gilbert had kissed her. Several more branched off from the crack, becoming bigger and more severe. Frau Augustine cried out in horror as her features began to crumble until she was reduced to nothing but dust. As this happened, the old-fashioned knife that Hans was holding in his hand had turned into dust too. 

A high, shrill, angry but broken cry filled each mans’ ears until the dust settled and the old witch was no more. 

 

All was quiet as each man tried to figure out what to do or say next. Ludwig was the first to break the silence. He turned to Hans, and to his colleague’s surprise, smiled at him with gratitude. 

"You’ve been so helpful." He said, "In fact, if it hadn’t been for you, I probably would have lost my brother forever. So…thank you." 

Hans looked flustered as he looked down at his feet, unsure as to how he should take the compliment. It had seemed so alien to be spoken to in such a kind way. “Oh…well it’s nothing.” He said modestly “I’m sure you would have done the same for me. Now, I should be going. I’ll leave you two in peace now.”

"Before you go…" Ludwig said quickly "There is one more favour I need to ask of you." It was the blond’s turn to look embarrassed "I’ve put you in such a terrible situation and now you know…about Gilbert and I. I…I don’t want this coming out to the public." He blushed, knowing that it was a very good chance that he might lose his job now. 

Unexpectedly, Hans put a hand on Ludwig’s shoulder “Relax. I won’t say anything about that. When have I ever been one to judge other people on who they love?” Yet as he said this, his eyes looked sad. “It’s nice that you both have such a close connection. See, I didn’t get any of that when I was a child. It was taken from me too. But, I’m not going to tell you any of my problems. It’s been a big day and we all need to relax and forget about it all.” 

"Vielen Dank, Hans." Gilbert said to the colleague. 

In response, the man smiled shyly at each brother in turn and then walked out of the house and got back into his car. It was slightly disappointing to see that there was no dog sitting beside him anymore, but he was quick to remember about how this bittersweet sacrifice had saved both brothers. Keeping that in mind, he looked up at the dark sky and drove away.

Alone at last, Ludwig turned to face the Prussian. “Did you really mean what you said? That you love me.” 

"Every word of it." Gilbert said with a smile, reaching to touch his face. He was so relieved to finally have his brother back with him. 

Ludwig smiled slightly, seeing how happy Gilbert was. It was a nice transition to his anxious and depressed mood earlier on. Yet one part of him was still uneasy. “What actually happened to you while I was gone?”

Gilbert looked down and for a moment, it seemed as if he didn’t want to answer, but he took a deep breath and confessed all that had occurred while Ludwig was trapped as a dog.

"I saw this other side of you…to begin with, it seemed happier, more exciting. But that all quickly ended. I saw what you would have been like as a beast, possessive and only interested to use me for your own purpose. But…I know that it wasn’t you." 

Ludwig looked guilty. There were bruises on Gilbert that he had not noticed before. He couldn’t help thinking that he was a little bit responsible for the albino’s ordeal. “I really wish I could have ended it sooner.” He said with remorse, reaching out to touch one of the bruises gently.  

Gilbert wrapped his arms around the German’s shoulders, hushing him. “Don’t be ridiculous. It wasn’t your fault. Frau Augustine had tricked us all. But she couldn’t change how I feel about you.” His lips met Ludwig’s as he kissed him softly. “After all, who knows you better than me?” 

The younger sibling smiled as he heard those words. “You’re amazing, do you know that?”

Gilbert chuckled “I know I am. Now kiss me West.”

Without any hesitation, Ludwig moved closer to obey him with a tender kiss. They embraced each other tightly, so joyful to be in each other’s company again. Even though Frau Augustine’s scheme was to drive them apart, it only made them closer than ever. The kisses became deeper and more intimate until Ludwig blushed and moved away slightly. 

"Shouldn’t we continue this when you’re ready?"

Gilbert gave a cry of happiness as he buried his face into Ludwig’s chest. The German looked back at him in confusion, completely unaware of how this had made the older man so cheerful.

"Why? What happened? Is it something I said?"

Gilbert held him in his arms once more. He knew that the Ludwig that was with him before would never be so gentlemanly. He had really missed this side of Ludwig, and to know that it was here to stay only made him more appreciative. 

"Nothing." Gilbert replied finally, knowing that it was too difficult to explain. He didn’t want to bring up all the details of his traumatic experience of Frau Augustine’s doing. "I’m just so happy to be with you again."

Someday, Gilbert decided. Someday he will tell Ludwig what had really happened. But now, at such a wonderful time from the tumultuous event that they had experienced, he had wanted to enjoy it properly. Nothing could bring them down, not even a memory from Frau Augustine. Silently, he took Ludwig by the arm and undressed him, kissing him deeply. Ludwig followed suit but gasped as he noticed the wounds on his wrist. 

"What is this?!

Gilbert planted kisses to the wounds, bringing some relief to them. As he did this, they had slowly healed until there was not a blemish anymore. Ludwig’s eyes widened, yet Gilbert understood what this had meant. 

_Nothing can conquer true love._

As they made gentle, but passionate love together, both brothers knew that despite everything that they had experienced and all the difficulties that had been thrown against them, that their feelings were not going to falter. Nothing could conquer true love, no matter how powerful the spell was. It was the undying love between them that destroyed all that had threatened to separate them.

And that in itself had made them all the more stronger. 

 

**Epilogue:**

Hans sat at his desk, busy working on the paperwork in his office. He was so focused on his work, that he had not even noticed someone knocking on the door. The knocking became louder and more impatient until his attention was roused and he quickly opened the door. 

It was Ludwig.

"Oh, entschuldigung." Hans apologised briskly, "I was busy with-"

Ludwig cut him off. ”Get in my office right away. Sofort!” 

Hans awkwardly followed him, not wanting to anger the German. He had seen what he was like when he was angry and although he was nothing like Frau Augustine, he did get anxious every time he had entertained the possibility. 

Once in the office, Ludwig’s serious expression changed in an instant. “Fritz!” He called cheerily “Come here boy!”

A large Alsatian, very much like the dog that was giving Hans company those past few days came bounding from behind the desk and towards the other man. Hans looked at the dog, surprised but his eyes were filled with so much joy. 

"Fritz.." He said with a wide smile, stroking the dog’s fur. But he quickly stopped as he remembered that Ludwig was still in the room. "I’m sorry. I got too carried away with your dog…" 

"He’s not my dog." Ludwig said, looking amused at how apologetic his coworker was "He’s yours to keep." 

Hans’ eyes widened “W-was? Mein Hund?” He couldn’t believe it. To have a dog of his own was like a dream come true. But he was confused. Why was he offered such a wonderful gift? Hardly anyone had ever given him gifts. Perhaps there was some catch to it, so he listened carefully for any conditions. 

"Ja, of course he’s your dog." Ludwig replied, "You’ve helped us so much…more than you realise. Now, I think it’s only fair to give you something that you deserve."

"But..surely there are some strings attached?"

To Hans’ surprise, the serious German laughed loudly “No, no Hans. He’s yours. I’m giving you Fritz as a present. After experiencing first hand how well you’ve been treating dogs…” He coughed with some embarrassment as he recalled this, “I figured that you’d be the best person to offer him a home.” 

In a split second, Hans threw his arms around Ludwig in happiness. “Oh thank you Ludwig. Thank you so much…how could I ever repay you?” His voice was teary and his embrace was a little too tight for Ludwig’s liking. 

"I know what you can do. Get your dog out of here right away before he makes a mess in my office." The blond ordered, turning back to his usual business-like self. Although this usually intimidated Hans, it did provide him some relief. He was glad to see Ludwig back to normal again.

"Sicher!" Hans said quickly, ushering Fritz out "And once again, thank you." 

Finally after Hans and his new companion had left the room, Ludwig was smiling to himself. He always knew that Hans was an unusual guy, but he was beginning to like him. Perhaps, Ludwig thought, this might be the start of another friendship…but if he was to be hugged so often, he didn’t want to count on it. To such a strict German who didn’t make friends easily, it was still early days.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation key: 
> 
> Alles gut: Everything is well
> 
> Aber: But
> 
> Ja: Yes
> 
> Nein danke: No thank you
> 
> Tschüss: Bye
> 
> Auf Wiedersehen: See you later
> 
> Bruder: Brother
> 
> Morgen: Morning
> 
> Herr: Mr
> 
> Mein Gott: My god.
> 
> Frische Luft ist sehr wichtig: Fresh air is very important
> 
> Entschuldigung: Excuse me/sorry 
> 
> Bis später: Until later
> 
> Scheiße: An expletive (I’m sure you can guess what that means ;))
> 
> Auf Wiederhören: Goodbye (on the telephone)
> 
> Kleiner: Smaller/younger (in this context)
> 
> Hallo: Hello
> 
> Dummkopf: A derogatory term usually meaning a silly person
> 
> Herr Gott Nochmal: A colloquial expression for showing irritation.
> 
> Frau: Mrs/Ms
> 
> Was?: What?
> 
> Aus: Out
> 
> Hund: Dog
> 
> Guten Morgen: Good morning
> 
> Meine liebe: My love
> 
> Jetzt: Now
> 
> Schnell: Quick
> 
> Gott Verdammt: God damn it 
> 
> Weiter: Further/more
> 
> Sehr gut: Very good
> 
> Ein bißchen mehr: A little bit more
> 
> Einen Moment bitte: A moment please
> 
> Süßer: Sweet
> 
> Bitte: Please
> 
> Ich liebe dich: I love you
> 
> Mein Schatz: My precious. This is a reference to the previous story of when Frau Augustine pursued Gilbert as she tried to make him into a possession of her own. 
> 
> Was ist los?: What is going on?
> 
> Großmutter: Grandmother
> 
> Vielen Dank: Thank you very much
> 
> Sofort: Right away
> 
> Mein Hund: My dog
> 
> Sicher: Certainly
> 
>  
> 
> *Footnotes for further explanations
> 
> *Kommissar Rex: Inspector Rex. This story was partially inspired by the Austrian television series of the same title. For those of you who are not familiar with it, the show involves a German shepherd who was talented at solving crimes and enjoyed ham rolls. A German shepherd had also seemed to be the ideal animal that Ludwig would be, had he been transformed into an animal.


End file.
